


Stargazing

by corvidity



Category: Gintama
Genre: Gen, very very mild be forever yorozuya spoilers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-11
Updated: 2015-06-11
Packaged: 2018-04-03 22:29:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,057
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4117126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/corvidity/pseuds/corvidity
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>There are some stars Gintoki wants to watch forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Stargazing

The mid-summer evening is pleasantly warm, enough for Gintoki to let himself be dragged up to the roof by an excitable Kagura and somewhat less excitable but equally persistent Shinpachi. They’ve set up the telescope and Sadaharu is already curled up, impossibly large, right next to it.

“There’s no excuse to not stay,” Kagura warns him. “Even Sadaharu is here!”

Shinpachi eyes Gintoki sternly. “That’s right, Gin-san. Sadaharu more or less doubles as a heater, so you can’t claim you’re cold and go back down.”

_Well, not that he’d intended to._ “Oi, oi, don’t be stupid. Gin-san isn’t afraid of the cold.”

Truth be told, stargazing reminds him of other stars in another time, and of a certain loud-mouthed samurai, the universe reflected in his eyes.

Gintoki slides a glance at his two kids. Shinpachi is patiently adjusting the telescope and letting Kagura peer through it, her chatter speeding up as she sees _a star, a star, it’s so bright, come and see Gin-chan, Gin-chan!_ Shinpachi wants to see too as he tries his best to peer through the telescope, but Kagura intent on monopolising it.

“Gin-san, Kagura-chan’s being unfair, can’t you tell her to let me see for a few minutes?”    

“Gin-chan, the otaku has four eyes anyway so he doesn’t _need_ the telescope, tell him it’s my turn - !” She plants a firm foot into Shinpachi’s backside and sends him sprawling. Sadaharu, roused from his nap by their racket, swats both aside with his tail before curling up around the telescope stand.

Gintoki takes one glance at their surprised faces and can’t help himself. He laughs long and hard, a bray so loud Sadaharu pricks up his ears and joins right in, howling at the heavens.

“Gin-chan!”

“Gin-san!”

Their looks are identical indignation, Shinpachi both flustered and disapproving, Kagura pouting so professionally Gintoki is reminded how much she takes after him.

As his laughter tails off, he realises with a sudden pang he doesn’t want the night to end.

He doesn’t want the stars to fade as the day breaks, and he’s a lazy bum, that’s what they all say; he’s lazy and selfish and he doesn’t want to see his children grow up and leave the proverbial nest (more a dog’s breakfast if he’s to be honest), to venture into blood-soaked battlefields and beyond the limits of this city, this planet. Because if they left, he doesn’t know if they’d ever come back. If there ever came a day Shinpachi cut down his enemies in cold blood, unnervingly serious; and Kagura fought with a refinement and grace so removed from her youthful brashness, Gintoki doesn’t know what he’d do.

Even he, the Shiroyasha of yore, cannot stop time (unless it’s completely by accident). They are his children and reflect him in the worst ways – their own souls indomitable, burning bright, liable to out-shine his own one day.

He looks at them again, but their features have softened and concern flickers in their eyes.

“Are you alright, Gin-san?”

“Gin-chan, did the wind freeze your face?”

Gintoki harrumphs, and pointedly flicks his nose. “Of course not. I’m perfectly fine. Wouldn’t even matter if the wind _had_ frozen my face, I’m handsome from every angle.”

Shinpachi and Kagura exchange unimpressed looks.  

Ignoring them, he ploughs on. “You’re the ones who should be worrying about yourselves. Honestly, when are you ever going to grow up? Look at what you’re wearing! You didn’t even think about bringing a jacket or two, just thought Sadaharu would be enough, huh? He huffs dramatically and turns to look out over Kabuki-cho. “I can’t always look after you two, you know.”

There is a moment of incredulous silence.

“Some guardian you are!” Kagura yells, “You never pay us!”, and she crashes into Gintoki headfirst with the force of a thousand suns.

“Oi, Kagura-chan, be careful!” Shinpachi yelps, launching himself after her. “How’s he going to pay up if you knock him off the roof?”

They go down in a tangle of limbs and frenzied shouting, Gintoki trying to pry himself loose from Kagura’s death grip, and they would have all rolled down if Sadaharu hadn’t been sitting at the roof’s edge. Gintoki goes barrelling into a solid warm body, any attempt at a retort effectively knocked out of him. The impact is enough to dislodge Kagura and Shinpachi, both of whom face-plant straight into Sadaharu’s side with undignified squawks.

All three of them lie there, motionless. Gintoki finds he doesn’t quite want to move. The night breeze is surprisingly cool, and carries the sound of distant laughter. Shinpachi eventually manages to struggle up and collapse against Sadaharu, while Kagura burrows deeper into the white fur, all her energy for the day seemingly exhausted.

“Say, Gin-san…” Shinpachi fails to hold back a yawn.

Sadaharu’s fur is warm and his breaths are like a bellows, in and out in a steady, comforting rhythm. Before anyone knows, they’re asleep.

* * *

Gintoki blinks. He can smell the sunrise on the air, and automatically his muscles tense for another day of fighting.

_No._

Inhale. Exhale. Again. It takes a minute to wrench himself back to the present, for his breathing to settle. The war is done. The sunrises aren’t bloodied by corpses anymore, they no longer smell of death. Gintoki shifts to one side and sees Shinpachi curled up next to him, Kagura snuggled in Sadaharu’s tail. Shinpachi mumbles something incoherently. Kagura replies with a snore and half-hearted kick in his direction. Their breaths are so loud in the morning stillness, so loud that Gintoki feels an ache in his chest, his own breath catching in his throat.

He tries to swallow the memories, but before he can, Shinpachi and Kagura flop towards him in an impressive display of coordination for two children supposedly still asleep. Kagura ends up under his right arm, Shinpachi leaning on his left. And they do nothing more but breathe; slowly, evenly, quietly.

Gintoki freezes. He has no idea where to put his hands. But he allows himself a small smile, and then leans back into Sadaharu’s warmth. Sure, he can tousle their hair now when they’re asleep, since there’s really no saying how much longer he’ll get away with it.  

The stars glimmer overhead, burning far, far away – and the faintest traces of daylight peep over the horizon from a star closer to home.

**Author's Note:**

> Wow, Gintama has brought back my space obsession in part. I used to love writing about the stars when I was much younger, thanks mainly to Torchwood and Doctor Who. Feels like an eternity ago.


End file.
